AZ54

I am still ok with Hester as one of our WRs, just prefer to use him where we can take advantage of his YAC potential instead of how Martz and "he's my #1 WR" Lovie used him.

Vengeance? We needed some depth on the Oline and Kreutz refused $4mil. The he went off and quit in the middle of the season on the Saints. If that was a vengeance signing I only wish JA had wanted more vengeance.

Ocho cinco is horrible, we don't need that.

I didn't say Adams isn't a better talent than Webb. The first round pick is about getting a future Pro Bowl player, ideally at a position of need, and as it appears right now Floyd has a much better chance of doing that than Adams, especially when considering our need is at LT not RT. Some paraphrased comments I've seen from our new GM: It's a big mans game. Wants playmakers, guys who dominate their opponent. Focus on football smarts not just smart players. I don't see him using the old floor vs. ceiling analogy JA followed. JA seemed to be more concerned with the floor than the ceiling anyway, or at least he was better at finding the floor players. Emery has stated playmakers multiple times in several interviews and players who can dominate their opponent. It's too early to tell but it sounds like we're headed into more of a smash mouth style team.

No big hits in terms of Pro Bowl players but he did demontrate the ability to find solid players in the later rounds of the draft.

And your data to prove your position? From what I've read on this guy, one sample below, where do you see dominate LT? http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/players/1620008 Pass blocking: Tall, long, athletic pass protector. Generally gets out of three-point stance with good knee bend and a wide base. Improving his ability to use his hands to redirect rushers and late blitzers away from the pocket. Power rushers lose most battles, good anchor in close quarters, will reset hands and move feet to sustain. Stops his feet after initial contact at times, relying on length but allowing defender to get the corner or spin inside. Run blocking: Solid positional run blocker who flashes some nastiness. Attacks his man when necessary, though he won't consistently dominate him and will lose his balance by overextending. Quick feet, can get inside of tackle to wall off inside and reach linebackers at the second level adeptly. Nice punch which he uses to knock down smaller defenders with one extension. Height a detriment in short-yardage plays, defender can get under his pads to hold the line. Flashes the ability to move his man with his hands, but is not yet consistent in this area.

Adams isn't that great of a talent and is more projected as a RT so with the team as it is right now I'm taking Floyd. Having him on the roster finally adds a consistent 3-step drop threat to the team and that alone negates a fair amount of pass rush. He also give Jay a guy he can throw open. Add in his help as a red zone target and I think the impact is greater. Now if one of the top 3 OT prospects are on the board then I'm taking one of them over Floyd.

You wouldn't want to trade for a guy who actively recruits players that could make his team better? Marshall is under contract, is he supposed to throw another fit and demand a trade? If he did how would that make him a better player and teammate for the Bears?

It seems there are a few others besides me who felt he played well. Admittedly there wasn't a lot of competition coming out of last years draft but nonetheless there were far lower expectations of Conte in just his second year at FS and first year in the NFL. http://www.chicagobears.com/news/NewsStory.asp?story_id=8589

I never felt Tice was interested in the Oakland job. Both he and the Bears were very low key after it was announced he was on their list of candidates. I also felt the process of sorting through 10 candidates is too time consuming and doesn't bode well for any involved. The Raiders went after McKenzie pretty aggresively you would think he'd have had a good idea who he wanted to be his head coach. Anyway, it's best for us and now we can move forward and fill our openings.

I've been watching Burfict since he started as a true freshman. He was a very physically player and I thought he'd really improve over the next couple years. He knows how to hit but he is not a very instinctive player. He has good speed but I don't think he has the kind of speed Lovie wants, and needs, in his D. I could be wrong so I'm very curious to see what his combine numbers are. I have doubts about his pass coverage skills too. The biggest risk with him though is his lack of discipline. He gets a lot of penalties and often hurts his team by keeping opponent's drive's alive. He'd make our LB corps better but I don't want him with our first pick. If he's there in Rd 2 then maybe depending on how he performs at the combine. In general I see him as more of an ILB on a 3-4 defense.

I'm good with Floyd at #19 but if he's gone, and the top 3 OTs are gone, and DeCastro is there I think we have to take him. From everything I've read and heard about him it seems like he'll end up a perennial Pro Bowl player. When you have a chance to get a guy like that on your roster, even if it's not your top need, I think you have to do it. With him at LG we'd be strong on the Oline from LG to RT. (Yes, I like Lance Louis at RG) With one weakness (LT) it's easy to scheme and help that side out from either RB or TE. Plus Cutler is pretty good rolling out to his right side. In terms of the running game I think we'd be hard to stop and that also helps out the pass blocking.

Fitzgerald is a 4.6 guy and he's doing alright. Other big WRs run around 4.6 and do just fine if they know how to use their body to shield defenders and go up and get the ball. I watched one of his highlight videos and Floyd knows how to do just that. In his running ability he actually reminds me more of Anquan Boldin in his early years with Cardinals, not fast enough to run away from anyone but you better wrap him up when you tackle. His pass catching ability is better than Boldin, he makes better adjustments on deep passes. He definitely knows how to go after the ball and get it no matter what position the DB has on him. We could use that.

Like I said...Giants have had excellent Oline and Dline for years. Eagles claim to fame5-10 years ago...excellent Dline and their Oline was good (I wouldn't say excellent). The Bills, they just have exceptionally high draft picks year after year.

I prefer Cliff Avril over Mathis. He's younger (only 25) and faster and signing him takes pass rush ability away from a key division rival. Given the state of our Oline this is not a bad thing. Rumor is that Detroit is working on a deal with him but you never know.

Again, I don't see the logic in going all in on one player when we have so many holes. Add in a new GM who is going to be evaluated more on how the team performs in his 3rd and 4th seasons and it seems even less likely. Add in all the top tier FA WR available and it makes even less sense. This seems like more speculation than fact to me especially with no GM on board yet.

All of these articles only talk about the "hits" these candidates had. I want to see both sides of the story with hits and misses. There are however two things I know about the Giants that I really like....they have done well with both Oline and Dline for many years now. That has always kept them in the playoff hunt along with Eli being at QB. We have the QB now fix the lines and voila we should be consistently competitive. If Ross knows the formula for this success and can execute it on both lines hire him DURING the first interview.

Hell yes I enjoyed that game. The favorites to win it all, nearly a perfect season and then can't even win a single post season game against an opponent with a mere 9 wins in the regular season! The only thing missing was Madden explaining away the Packers turnovers. Absolutely I enjoyed reveling in their misery. GO BEARS!

No more one year stop gaps at WR....fix it for the long haul! We won't find a better year in terms of FA and draft talent so get it done right.

http://www.chicagobears.com/multimedia/mul...lip=Y&rn=14

I'll take Avril, his 11 sacks look pretty good opposite Peppers. He has the kind of pure speed I'd like to have in at least one edge rusher, and really we'd have two with Peppers. He's not the complete answer at DE but his weaknesses should keep his price down while his strengths complement what we need. I can see Izzy and Avril splitting snaps with Avril out there on 3rd and long situations. Wootton sticks as our 4th DE. Aside from making us better signing Avril hurts a key division opponent. No to trading up for Blackmon. I love what he brings to the table but football is a team sport and you'd only make that trade if you felt Blackmon was the last piece needed to win a Superbowl. Ask Atlanta how well that works. In our case he's not and once again we have many missing pieces. On top of that there are too many good FA WRs out there so why sell the farm for a player when you can get similar production from a vet and add in the improvement from fixing OT, CB, LB, and even another WR.

Based on what? If that were true I think we'd have heard some rumors by now and if you have a link I'd like to see it. I don't see anyone trading for Manning given his injury plus contract status. They won't be able to examine Manning until a trade is completed. Now if Indy pays him the $28mil bonus and then trades him then perhaps teams will be interested. However, eating $28mil is not something I can envision any owner doing. I think Indy boxed themselves into a corner but at the end they decide to rebuild around Luck and Peyton will be the top FA this offseason. http://www.rotoworld.com/player/nfl/1493/peyton-manning According to ESPN's Chris Mortensen, Colts owner Jim Irsay "will never trade" Peyton Manning. Mort also reports both Irsay and Manning have emphatically denied discussing pushing back the March 8 due date for Manning's $28 million option bonus. The duo will "jointly determine" Manning's future, and the matter of Manning's potential release remains a "medical issue" for the time being. Our best guess remains that Manning will be released just before or on March 8. Jan 8 - 11:44 AM

I'm in agreement on this point but you have to also add that this draft is deep with WR talent so there's even less reason to trade that pick for a WR, proven or not.

I think if this were the Bears intent we'd have heard much more about it from the day JA was fired. Instead this feels more like a courtesy consideration being extended by the family run Bears organization. I don't mind that aspect but they made a decision to get away from the JA organization because it hasn't worked and they should stick to that goal.

On drafting LBs...even though it might have been unintentional that's one of the best backhanded slaps against JA's drafts I've ever seen. How many times did he fail to find decent mid-round talent at LB?